Article Abstract
Berrios, R. (2006). Government Contracts and Contractor Behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 63: 119-130.
Privatization, in the realm of government contracts, could be conceptualized in terms of outsourcing and contracting out. Here, the government reaches out to firms in the private sector to avail essential and other critical services. There are various benefits that could be realized as a consequence of such a move. These include, but they are not limited to, enhanced efficiency and access to higher skill levels. To a large extent, the competitive nature of such engagements results in greater efficiency in as far as service delivery is concerned. It is important to note that in principle, the government contracting system ought to not only be competitive, but also open. In some instances, however, this has not been the case. This is more so the case given that some of the contracts awarded in the past have…...
Comparing the Advantages and Disadvantages of Cost-Based and Price-based DoD Contracting MethodsFor several years, the Department of Defence has primarily relied on cost-based proposals for most of its contracting processes. This emphasis has dramatically influenced the imposition of specific accounting systems, lost focus on the best value, and extensive auditing. Commercial markets are increasingly driving the rate of change and adoption of technology.Hence, the intensity of investment in and the focus on new industrial methods in product design, manufacturing, and development processes is ahead of the defense system producers. The Department of Defence (DoD) uses primarily two contract types to acquire powerful weapons systems. These are the price-based contracts and the cost-based contracts. Price-based contracting methods, commonly referred to as price-based acquisition, is a significant acquisition reform or measure seeking to reduce the costs while enhancing the efficiency of purchase.The central idea or concept of this reform measure is the…...
mlaReferences
Euske, K. J., & Wang, C. (2012). Cost Efficiency of Defence Procurement: What We Can and Can’t Learn From French Lessons.
Grady, C. M. (2016). Guidance on Using Incentive and Other Contract Types.
Lorell, M. A., Graser, J. C., & Cook, C. R. (2005). Price-Based Acquisition. Issues and Challenges for Defence Department Procurement of Weapon Systems. RAND CORP SANTA MONICA CA.
Will, E. L. (1999). Paving the way for price-based acquisition. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE WASHINGTON DC.
Risk management as it relates to government contracts can often be a complex and convoluted process. This is particularly true as government contracts often have certain stipulations and provisions that are unlike their private sector counterparts. When approaching a high-level negotiation is therefore important to have a strategy that emphasizes risk management and its implications for downside protection. To begin, as with any negotiation, it is important to identify each party’s key interest. By identifying what each party is attempting to achieve, it is much easier to formulate a negotiating strategy. Here, I would first identify the counterparties primary constituencies and formulate a strategy centered around them. In the case of a government contract, the immediate constituency is the community at large. Depending on the contract, a key counterpart stakeholder is the supply chain itself. For example, in a bid to construct military housing on an off-base premise, key counterparty stakeholders…...
The government official has a legal as well as an ethical responsibility to put the interests of the public first, as a public servant. To fail to do so will result in greater cost to the taxpayer, and perhaps even an inferior product. This type of waste takes money away from other, more worthy public projects as well, including aid to the poor.
Government contracting officers have unique responsibilities and special, additional privileges as a result of their duties: "Of all government personnel, only a Contracting Officer has the authority to enter the government into a binding contract. He or she will be the one to sign the final contract agreement, and only a Contracting Officer has the power to change the terms of the contract" (Government contracting personnel: Understanding roles played, 2011, ONVIA). The contracting officer is thus acting on behalf of the entire government, and has unique powers…...
mlaReferences
Business ethics in government contracts. (2011). ONVIA. Retrieved
February 17, 2011 at http://www.onvia.com/b2g-resources/article/business-ethics-in-government-contracts
Government contracting personnel: Understanding roles played. (2011). ONVIA. Retrieved
February 17, 2011 at http://www.onvia.com/b2g-resources/article/government-contracting-personnel
The ability to end or terminate the contract is unilateral. Gabbard expresses the fact that changes must also be unilateral. The terms in settling a dispute must be predetermined before entering contract. The Government contract gives the authoritative party the right to audit the books of the company selling the product or service. In this court case, the government was allowed to appeal the case won by Agredano resulting in a reversal of the former court ruling.
Government Contract Comparison to Uniform Commercial Code/Contract
The U.C.C. Or commercial contract is less formal and authority to enter a contract is assumed by the parties involved (Gabbard, 2011). In a UCC the terms are not detailed or written out in a formal document as required by a government contract. In fact the details are implied (Gabbard, 2011).
Analyzing and Evaluation Example: Carpet Cleaning Contract
For example in a UCC contract with a carpet cleaner, it…...
mlaReferences
Cengage Learning, (2011). Buyer beware applies to vehicle bought by the government.
June 12, 2010 from http://www.swlearning.com/blaw/cases/sales/0410_sales_01.html
Gabbard, E.G. (2011). Relationship of far and ucc in subcontracting. Retrieved June
10, 2011 from fasmg. org/farucc. htmlhttp://www.
All other issues are derived from this rule. Many of the modern contracts have express conditions, which are explicit contractual provisions that the parties need to abide by. The related elements that this incurs are detailed in the subchapter referring to express conditions. An interesting element of contract performances is those particular contracts that are divisible. In those cases, the parties' performance can be apportioned into pairs of matching or corresponding parts.
The part of this chapter discussing breaches of contracts starts with a classification of breaches into material and minor breaches, with each of the two being discussed in detail. Anticipatory breach is referred to and is defined and categorized in another part of the chapter.
Chapter 6 discusses general remedies for contracts and starts with basic measures that can be undertaken. The damage measures are described as being determined either based on the expectation of damages, or as restitutionary…...
Contracts and Performance-Based Acquisition
A contract is a planned and legal agreement made between two or more parties with intent. It could be oral or written and may involve business individuals, employers and employees, or tenants and land lords. elations built through contracts emerge from offers given, reception, intentions, considerations and genuine consent, and legal agreement from which the contract began. Every person involved in a contract gains responsibilities and rights similar to those of other individuals in the contract. Legally, all parties benefit equally from the contract, meaning all members are entitled to equal rights whatsoever. While contracts remain enforceable whether they are spoken or written, a written contract ensures legal security to all parties involved. This is because a spoken contract will only depend on the loyalty of people involved but with not future reference whatsoever. A written contract on the other hand will have recorded details on…...
mlaReferences
CCH Incorporated. (2007). Government contracts reference book; New York: CCH Incorporated,
C. Ralph. (2012). Intellectual property in government contracts: 2012 statutory and regulatory supplement. New York: Wolters Kluwer Law & Business Publications
C. Terrence. (2007). Understanding government contract law. New York: Management Concepts Publishing
F. Steven. (2011). Feldman and Keyes' government contracts in a nutshell, 5th (West Nutshell Series). Minnesota: West Publications
Government Contracting class.
GAO case study: Contract dispute
One of the most recent government debacles of 2013-2014 was that of the healthcare.gov crisis. Healthcare.gov, the Internet exchange on which people could buy healthcare plans on the open market, was largely inoperable for the first months of its existence. The fact that the website was effectively the result of a failed government contract is often forgotten, due to the focus on the policy debate swirling around the requirement that all American citizens are ensured. There was later an investigation into the contract between the government and the firm (CMS) charged with designing the website. "To be expedient, CMS issued task orders to develop the federally facilitated marketplace (FFM) and federal data services hub (data hub) systems when key technical requirements were unknown, including the number and composition of states to be supported and, importantly, the number of potential enrollees. CMS used cost-reimbursement…...
mlaReferences
Ineffective planning and oversight practices underscore the need for improved contract
Management (2014). GAO-14-694. Retrieved from:
Prenegotiation Objectives Order
Prenegotiation Objectives Contract NO. DACA87-12-5-6789
Change Case NO. 23-0-41-2
Modification Description: he U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development feels it is necessary to submit our interest in adding Employment Identification Verification EIV to the application process of families who need low income housing assistance.
o assist Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) with effective monitoring on a monthly basis of participant compliance with the Social Security Number (SSN) disclosure and verification requirement, in agreement with 22 CFR 5.910; and to measure the aid with diverse households, in agreement with 22 CFR 5.420. he account will also support PHAs with proof of citizenship, entitled citizens who are allotted alternate identification number (AL ID) who must reveal their given SSN, suitable noncitizens with AL ID who must reveal their allotted SSN, and to verify if families are honestly reporting their employment while receiving housing assistance.
Government Estimate: he U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development…...
mlaTime: We request that the EIV system be a part of the program effective immediately after approval to assist with the second half of FY2011. This can allow HUD to notify families and begin service for August 2011 to December 2011.
Price Analysis: HUD requests to pay EIV a monthly set fee because the accessibility should be unlimited logons and not to exceed what general verification websites charge which is no more than $60.00 a month per HUD office.
Price Objective: To cut back or terminate rental assistance to families that is verified through EIV as not reporting their income by their SSN. Even if HUD terminated 100K families with a $600 monthly voucher from approval starting August 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011, that would be approximately $240 million in savings. We feel that is ample enough reason to consider awarding HUD the contract to add EIV.
Government Solicitation
Developing a Federal Acquisition Team: everse Engineering a Standard Forestry Project to Determine Team equirements
FA Provisions
The selected project is controlled by the Forestry Department, which is part of the Department of Agriculture, placing the project under the auspices of Chapter 4 for the Federal Acquisition egulations, which themselves make up Title 48 of the Code of Federal egulations (e-CF, 2012). elevant paragraphs include a provision that all Head of Contracting Activities (HCAs) comply with FA 7.103, detailed further below (e-CF, 2012, Title 48, Chapter 4, Part 407, par. 407.103). In addition, paragraph 407.503 of the same chapter provides provisions for the determination of whether or not a proposed contracting function is "inherently governmental" according to FA 7.503(e), and also sets out rules for settling disputes when there is not agreement on this issue (e-CF, 2012). It is not expected that this will be of issue in this case, however,…...
mlaReferences
e-CFR. (2012). Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. Accessed 22 April 2012.
http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&tpl=%2Findex.tpl
PAYCO NSFR #2210 (2012).
PAYCO NSFR #2210 Recons. Drawing. (2012).
Contracts (except for those of high paid professional athletes who believe that they do not have to be held to such trivialities) are documents that require events to take place at the behest of each participant. When the participants are buyers and sellers, a contract is normally written to specific exactly what the buyer will receive from the seller, and what the seller will receive from the buyer. The contract also spells out any terms and conditions of the purchase or sale, and what the consequences will be if the contract is not fulfilled by either party.
As one recent article reports "contracts are mediated by markets, implying that there exists a price for every possible good for each possible contingency over each possible date" (Nosal, 2010, p. 1). As Nosal puts it, people choose to buy or sell goods to maximize their own happiness, and their only constraint is that…...
mlaReferences
Nosal, E.; (2010) What is clearing and why is it important? Chicago Fed Letter, Issue 278, pp. 1-4
("ender," 2010)
Evaluate how Public Policy Decisions Affect the Receipt of Revenues
Politics and attitudes about where the various revenues should be spent can create heated amounts of debate. In the case of the Department of Defense, this can mean that periodic reviews could occur that can have an impact upon a host of different spending programs. At the same time, various assessments will take place with Secretary of Defense. Where, they will review the size and necessity of the various bases / personnel. A good example of this can be seen when the Secretary of Defense will recommend various base closures and force adjustments. As politics and changes in the Department's needs / availability of funds will affect what programs are going to receive the most appropriate amount of revenues.
Analyze the Economic Conditions that Affect Revenue Projections
The economic conditions will play a major role in determining how much spending will…...
mlaBibliography
Base Closure List. (2005). MSNBC. Retrieved from: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7834939/ns/us_news
The Numbers. (2010). Tax Policy Center. Retrieved from: http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/background/numbers/revenue.cfm
Bender, B. (2010). Spending Critic Brown. Boston Globe. Retrieved from: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2010/04/08/spending_critic_brown_backs_mass_weapons_bid/
Dupy, T. (2010). Defense Secretary Wants Spending Cuts. Huffington Post. Retrieved from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tina-dupuy/defense-secretary-wants-d_b_571906.html
Government Accounting Office in America (GAO)
This is an examination of the Government Accounting Office in America. The writer discusses the history, purpose and background of the GAO as well as the duties that the office is charged with performing. The writer then analyzes literature that illustrates the office in action. The final discussion revolves around the question, "Is the office effective or is it a waste of money." There were four sources used to complete this paper.
During the last few years there has been a public outcry and demand to investigate government spending. The public was brought stories by the media about the government paying thousands of dollars for toilet seats, and spending hundreds of dollars on a screwdriver and other such tools. When the reports began to surface about wasted government spending the public became angry. Lobbyists across the nation began to demand an accounting of not only tax…...
mlaBibliography for a listing of non-GAO publications.) It should be noted that, as with any effort to put current events into historical context, alternative interpretations are possible. Often debated are the intent and motivation of the framers of the Constitution who created the census. In this report, we have quoted the Constitution and various laws relating to the decennial census and have attempted to place their language in an historical context. We are not, however, providing our own independent review or interpretation of the constitutional and statutory issues discussed in this report, which, unless otherwise noted, are based primarily on the analysis contained in the various publications and documents we relied upon in preparing this report.
Short answers to some frequently asked questions about the decennial census are in appendix 1. Appendix 11 contains information on changes in the apportionment of the membership of the House of Representatives between the 1920 and 1990 Decennial Censuses by region of country and on changes in the nation's population and its undercount by race and ethnicity between the 1950 and 1990 censuses, as well as a snapshot of the growth and cost of census-taking since the first decennial census in 1790. Major contributors to this report are identified in appendix III.
L. Nye Stevens Director, Federal Management and Workforce Issues
Chapter 1
Why Take the Census?
Federal Contracts
There are several kinds of contracts that are commonly used at the federal level, including fixed-price and cost-reimbursement contracts. In order to understand them more clearly, and in order to compare them with other contracts, it is important to discuss them thoroughly. Fixed-price contracts are exactly what their name implies. They are set up based on a fixed and agreed-upon price, and that price cannot be changed (Barnett, 2003). There are both benefits and drawbacks from the perspective of the contractor when it comes to this type of contract. The most significant benefit is that the contractor knows how much he or she will be paid when the job is completed. The drawback, of course, is that there is the possibility that the job will cost much more than the contractor anticipated. With that being the case, the contractor may find that he or she is not getting paid…...
mlaReferences
Barnett, R.E. (2003). Contracts. New York, NY: Aspen Publishers
McKendrick, E. (2005). Contract law - Text, cases and materials. New York, NY: Oxford University Press
Stanberry, S.A. (2008). Federal contracting made easy (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Management Concepts
As a result many government contractors struggle to remain profitable over the life of their contracts. Third, the federal government requires contractors to create a Project Management Office (PMO) that acts as the coordination point of all activities. The PMO is a requirement in larger government contracting projects including the building of aerospace and defense vehicles and systems.
ecommendation
Despite the costs and challenges of selling to the federal government, the annuity-oriented contract renewals and the potential of becoming a prime contractor make the investment an attractive one. Many companies initially begin pilot programs that concentrate on selling a specific set of products or services that can be tailored and customized to the governments' needs. By taking a pilot-based approach, a company can minimize risk but also gain insight into how to better work with the federal government.
eferences
uben Berrios (2006). Government Contracts and Contractor Behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 63(2), 119-130.…...
mlaReferences
Ruben Berrios (2006). Government Contracts and Contractor Behavior. Journal of Business Ethics, 63(2), 119-130. Retrieved October 9, 2008, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 964489041).
1. The rise of cryptocurrency fraud in local government: exploring how officials are using digital currencies to commit fraud and evade detection.
2. The impact of social media on government fraud: examining how social media platforms are being used to perpetrate fraud schemes within local governments.
3. Corruption in Tendering Processes: an analysis of how fraud is being committed in the awarding of government contracts and tenders at the local level.
4. The role of whistleblowers in exposing fraud in local government: investigating the importance of individuals coming forward to report fraudulent activities and the challenges they face in doing so.
5. The use....
Corruption: A Case Study
Corruption is a widespread and insidious problem that plagues societies worldwide. It undermines trust, impedes economic growth, and perpetuates inequality. This case study delves into a real-world example of corruption, uncovering its multifaceted nature and devastating consequences.
The Setting: Afican Utopia
Afican Utopia is a fictitious African nation once hailed as a beacon of hope and prosperity. However, beneath the gleaming facade lay a deep-rooted culture of corruption. In the halls of power, unscrupulous politicians and government officials colluded with wealthy elites to enrich themselves at the expense of the nation's well-being.
The Key Players
At the heart of the corruption....
Urban political machines thrived in major cities during the late 19th century for several reasons:
1. Immigration: The influx of immigrants to major cities during this time created a large pool of potential voters who were often in need of assistance with housing, jobs, and other basic needs. Political machines provided these services in exchange for political support.
2. Industrialization: The rapid growth of cities due to industrialization led to overcrowding, poor living conditions, and social inequality. Political machines were able to exploit these conditions by providing social services and assistance to individuals in need, thus gaining their loyalty and votes.
3. Corruption:....
1. Private investment in space exploration has significantly increased in recent years, offering greater flexibility and innovation compared to government-funded missions.
2. Government-funded missions, while often more ambitious and comprehensive, face bureaucratic hurdles and budget constraints that can hinder progress.
3. Private companies have a greater incentive to develop cost-effective and commercially viable technologies, driving down the cost of space exploration.
4. Private investment allows for a broader range of space exploration endeavors, including commercial ventures and niche scientific research, catering to diverse interests.
5. Government-funded missions prioritize national objectives and geopolitical interests, potentially limiting the scope and direction of exploration.
6. Private investment enables....
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